Muhammed Rehman of Royal Palm stamped his name on the 1st Chief of Naval Staff Golf Championship Trophy after a rather hectic final round on Sunday at the par 72 Royal Palm Golf and Country Club Golf Course. This 22-year old slightly built youngster showed a big heart throughout the three competitive rounds when he had two extremely skill-loaded rivals, Waeem Rana and Sufian Dhaduk of Karachi breathing down his neck.
In particular, Waseem did not relent till the very end and it was the final sequence of pars on the closing holes that saved Rehman from Waseem’s onslaught. “It wasn’t easy,” said Rehman. “Although I felt unnerved on the 10th hole when the out of bounds tee shot virtually shattered my hopes, but then a thumbs up sign from my father Gul Muhammed, a former Pakistan champion amongst the spectators, boosted my confidence and I was back to my normal self,” he added.
The runner up of this championship Waseem Rana did look dejected but he was all praise for Rehman’s good play during this championship. Another one to compliment Rehman was Asad I A Khan, Senior Vice President, Sindh Golf Association, who backed the Karachi lads for most part of the final round but once the game was over, he walked over to Rehman and extended his full support to Rehman.
Statistically, Rehman won with scores of 71, 71 and 77 and a three days aggregate of 219 followed by Waseem Rana 220, Sufian Dhaduk 223, Sajid Khan 226, Capt Anser Mehmood 227 and Azhar Shah Bokhari 231. In the contest for net honors, the top one was Hussain Hamid with a three days net score of 207 and the runner up was Shugail Hussain who ended at 210.Rashid Akbar came third with a net score of 211. Amongst the seniors the dominant one was Javed A Khan, Captain of WAPDA golf team who outcalssed his opponents with extremely good play.
The runner up was Abdul Haq of Peshawar and Maj U.D Najmi of Garrison Golf Club came third. In the seniors net, the winner net was Col M. Shafi with Dr. Zahid A Khan second and Maj Gen (r) Akram Sahi third. Commodore Akber Naqi, the Station Commander of Pak Navy Lahore, confirmed that this will be a regular event and was thankful to sponsors like Millat Tractors, MCB, Orient and Bharia Foundation.
The chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony was Vice Admiral Muhammed Asif Sandila, Chief of Staff, Pakistan Navy.
